Toronto stocks closed flat in mixed trading Tuesday as gains in energy shares offset losses in the financial group. The S&P/TSX composite index finished the session up 3.71 points, or 0.04%, at 8,995.19. Volume was 263 million shares.

Six of the 10 TSX main groups ended higher.

The energy and industrial sectors both rose 1%, while the heavily weighted financial issues slid 0.6%.

Energy stocks kept the index afloat due to forecasts for a colder than normal winter, but the gains were limited ahead of a U.S. government report that some expect will show a small increase in heating oil stocks.

Crude oil futures briefly surpassed US$50 a barrel, but then retreated sharply to settle at US$48.94, an increase of 30¢, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Petro-Canada shares climbed 1.8 % to $66.85, while Husky Energy rose almost 3% to $33.91.

In the financial group, Bank of Montreal increased its fourth-quarter profit by about 10 percent, but BMO shares slipped 2%, to $56.70,

Bank of Nova Scotia shares dropped 1.5% to $37.33 after Scotiabank announced plans to purchase all of the shares of El Salvador’s Banco do Comercio for US$180 million.

Gold miners lost much of Monday’s gains falling 1.77%.

Health care stocks climbed 1.59% as Patheon shares gained 8.5% to $8.30. Patheon is paying US$350 million in cash, stock and assumed debt to acquire Mova Pharmaceutical Corp., a U.S. prescription drug contract company based in Puerto Rico.

Patheon said the deal is expected to add “significantly” to earnings starting in 2005.

In other earnings news, George Weston said third-quarter net profit sagged 21% as a rise in sales was spoiled by a $44 million restructuring charge in its American bakery operations. Its shares advanced 2%, to $104.10.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index slipped 5.24 points, or 0.31%, to 1,700.60. Volume was 101 million shares.

In New York, stocks closed little changed as tech bellwether Intel dropped after an investment bank lowered its rating on shares of the world’s largest chip maker, but oil prices receded from recent highs.

The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average finished up 3.18 points, or 0.03%, at 10,492.60. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index shed 0.91 of a point to 2,084.28. The broader S&P 500 closed down 0.30 of a point at 1,176.94.

Light trading is expected tomorrow with the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday.